It’s been such a long time coming, but ILLIMAT, the game we helped foster into the world alongside Keith Baker, is NOW available in fine, upstanding game stores everywhere. For those among you for whom that sentence is a garble of nouns and verbs, know that ILLIMAT is a card/board game, designed by Keith Baker and the band, based on a prop Carson Ellis and Autumn de Wilde made for a photo shoot in 2009. It is *also* an ancient pastime, played in secret by a strange organization called the Society of Luminaries. Take your pick, really.

But more importantly: YOU CAN BUY IT AND PLAY IT TODAY! Check it out at our webshop, DecemberistsShop.com, illimat.com, or, as we said above, your favorite neighborhood indie game store.

We’re super proud of it. Carson did all the artwork for it and it’s really a thing of beauty. Special thanks to all the backers (and there are 5,963 of you lovely creatures) for supporting this weird idea and making it a reality.

You would also be perhaps interested to know that Colin’s new book THE WHIZ MOB AND THE GRENADINE KID is out in the world, resting on the shelves of upstanding bookstores everywhere. It’s about a gang of pickpockets in Marseille, France, in 1961 and is really intended for the 9-12 year-old set, but grown ups have been known to read it and enjoy it immensely. GIT IT!

Funk has a new video series, 'Funk Plus One,' on Great Big Story which finds him on the road in search of surprising and extraordinary people in music. The first episode with Gaelynn Lea premiered last week and the second episode with Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton just came out today. They’re also running a sweepstakes to give away a Supro guitar signed by Funk, you can learn more on the @GreatBigStory Instagram account or visit here for the official rules.

In other band-tangentially-related news, there are still cases of Bandit Queen wine available in time for holiday imbibing. We’re still working on the 2016 vintage, but the 2015 is particularly tasty — and is ready to drink now! Order yourself up a few here!

Speaking of the holidays, we happened to contribute a cover of Big Star’s “Jesus Christ” to the Holidays Rule Vol. 2 compilation. You can download or stream the album now here.

Looking into 2018, we’ll be performing at Innings Festival in Tempe, AZ on March 24. Single day tickets are on sale now here. While this is currently the only show on the docket, rest assured that won’t remain the case for too long (but more on that in the new year).

We’re very proud of it. The record was made in Portland, OR, last year, and was helmed by Tucker Martine & Colin Meloy on production duties. Olivia did the lion’s share of arrangement (with some contributions from Mr. Meloy and Jenny Conlee) on these eleven trad & cover tunes. Offa Rex is heading out and performing a few live dates in select cities:

If you’ve already purchased a ticket for one of the other shows on the tour but would like to get in on the pre-show performance/Q&A, signed tour poster, and more, TWSSCAP Upgrades are now available as well.

If you need a refresher on Offa Rex, our collaboration with Olivia Chaney, think Albion Dance Band/Steeleye Span/Anne Briggs. Traditional folk songs through the lens of the 60’s and 70’s British Folk Revival plus a few originals from that era by Ewan MacColl and Lal Waterson.

“Blackleg Miner” is available now as an instant download, along with the title track, when you pre-order The Queen of Hearts on CD, vinyl, or via iTunes. Due to a slight delay in vinyl production, the album’s release date has been pushed back one week to July 14, but we’ll have another new track to share in the coming weeks to help hold you over in the interim.

Tickets for the Offa Rex show in Portland on July 23 are sold out but a limited supply still remain for the NYC show at The Town Hall on July 26 here.

We’re offering The Whole Shebang Super Concert Action Packages for this new date along with the rest of the stops on the tour. If you’ve already purchased a standard ticket for one of the shows but would like to get in on the pre-show performance/Q&A, signed tour poster, and more, Upgrade versions are now available as well.

Tickets will go on sale Friday, May 12 at 10am PT and will be available for purchase here.

***Update***

We’re pleased to announce a special event prior to the show. Colin Meloy and Benjamin Gibbard will perform short solo sets for a very limited number of fans and take part in a meet & greet with photos. Passes for this pre-show event will be available as an add-on to your ticket to the main show when they go on sale this Friday.

—

If you are unable to attend the show but are interested in supporting these great organizations, please visit ACLU and Planned Parenthood to see how you can help.